The development team spent a lot of time in Miami conducting intensive field research to make the game world fit the inspiration and time period. The game was also influenced by films and television shows from the time period, particularly Scarface and Miami Vice. The plot of the game is based on a number of real-life personalities and events in Miami, including Cubans, Haitians, and motorcycle gangs, the 1980s crack epidemic, Miami's Mafioso drug lords, and glam metal's domination. The open-world concept allows the player to explore freely across Vice City, which is divided into two main islands. The game is played in third-person and the world can be explored on foot or by car. He eventually develops an empire by grabbing control from other criminal organizations in the city while searching for those responsible. The single-player plot takes place in 1986 in the fictitious Vice City (based in Miami) and follows mobster Tommy Vercetti's ascent to prominence after being freed from jail and becoming involved in an ambushed cocaine deal. It is the fourth main entry in the Grand Theft Auto series, and the sixth overall, following 2001's Grand Theft Auto III. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is a Rockstar North and Rockstar Games action-adventure game released in 2002.
